Day 1, Sydney to Maroochydore
The 43rd year of waterbird aerial surveys kicks off today. This first day sees us head north and count the eastern sections of our ten 30km wide survey bands.
Photo:Â Stradbroke Island shoreline
Survey details
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Date
Tuesday 30th September 2025
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Author
John Porter
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Project
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Observers
John Porter (NSW DCCEEW), Chris Sanderson
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Pilot
Thomas Clark
After loading the aircraft, doing preflight checks and setting up our equipment
we took off from Bankstown airport in Sydney to head for the Myall Lakes just north of Port Stephens on the NSW Central Coast.
Our first surveys started with the Myall River, north of Port Stephens on the coast and then into the estuarine Myall Lakes – Bombah Broadwater, Boolambayt, Myall and Smiths Lakes.
After following the river channel north we hug the shorelines of these large estuarine lakes where most of the waterbirds congregate. We were surprised to find lower numbers of waterbirds than previous years – mainly cormorants, darters, coot and Black Swans.
After refuelling at Port Macquarie we continue north, tracking along the coastline. Our next counts are over some rivers and creeks between Urunga and Nambucca Heads where we found low numbers of waterbirds – a few cormorants, terns and egrets. Â
Continuing on into Queensland and the Gold Coast high-rise structures we pass a huge sand dredge repairing the damage to the narrow sand strip.
Near Stradbroke Island we spot dozens of migrating humpback whales and calves as well as some pods of dolphins, a few placid dugongs and even some graceful manta rays.
Our final stop for the day is Maroochydore where we refuel the aircraft before heading into town.
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